Vodafone Group's quarterly India revenue grows 6.3 percent

New Delhi -  Britain-based telecom firm Vodafone Group Thursday reported a 6.3 percent rise in its India revenue at 1.02 billion pounds ($1.62 billion) for the quarter ended Dec 31 owing to  the increase in the customer base.

The firm had posted 963 million pounds revenue during the like period of the previous financial year, the company said in a statement.

The group's global revenue decreased 2.3 percent at 11.62 billion pounds during the quarter under review.

“We are continuing to make progress in the key strategic areas of data, enterprise and emerging markets. Despite the further deterioration of the southern European economic environment  during the quarter, our broad geographic mix is delivering a resilient overall performance," said Vittorio Colao, chief executive, Vodafone Group.

"Our improved value perception, strong cash generation and healthy balance sheet give us confidence that we can continue to execute well," he added.

The group also said that the quarter saw 46.4 percent growth in India's data revenue, adding that as on Dec 2011 the data customers totalled 31.2 million.

The telecom major also said that while the market remained highly competitive, the effective rate per minute had increased slightly compared to the previous quarter following the  penetration of recent price rises into the customer base.

Following the launch of its commercial 3G services in February 2011, 3G was available to Vodafone customers in 683 towns and cities across 20 circles by Dec 31, 2011. The operator's  subscribers base in India stood at 147.75 million as on Dec 31.